Sunday, October 25, 2015

Bra Review: Scantilly Peek A Boo

Peeps, I'm unduly impressed by the Scantilly Peek A Boo set. It's of excellent quality, a fact which is immediately apparent, and it's gorgeous while also being entirely sexy. Sure, I'm not looking to add it into regular daily rotation, but one could wear it to work and achieve a lifted, supported, lovely silhouette. Talk about a fun secret!

For starters, here are a few - completely inadequate - shots I took (as we know, photographing black satin is something best left to the professionals). Do not let my pics dissuade you - the Scantilly site model shots (much as I don't love Scantilly styling) show off the quality well:

Flat presentation doesn't do justice to the fall of that satin panel...

The bra itself is detached from the satin panel except at the underwire. You can see that it's entirely sheer but the seams are reinforced with satin tape. This makes the bra strong and, I can tell you from personal experience, affixing that tape is not easy. Sure, the product is being made with industrial machines and the techniques they afford, but this is workmanship. The satin has 2 way stretch and it's set on the bias so the drape is beautiful and it in no way sags, but it does contour.

Here's a view from the inside of the bra:

OK, a bit about the size and shape:

The band is snug. The 32 stretches to 31.5 inches. I recommend sizing up if you're between sizes and you don't like a snug band. In retrospect, I'll likely continue ordering this band size and I'll go up a cup size to achieve the depth that this brand doesn't draft to provide. Note: I'm really new to this brand, as are we all, so take my feedback with a grain of salt. The next style I will buy - out in November - is the Surrender basque. That one looks more full coverage and deep so I may actually stick with my regular size...

This bra is about an inch shallower for size than those in my bra drawer (i.e. those that fit perfectly) but that's cuz the wire width is about an inch wider. So, what I mean is that the bra is not actually shallower than my requirements, it's simply a different shape than I wear because I need serious centre cup projection. I generally wear bras with 5.8 - 6 inch wire width and 11-11.25 inch cup depth. This bra has 6.5 inch width and 10.25 inch depth. Because this isn't a huge difference - and because the other proportions of the bra work for me (strap setting, shape of cup) - the net impact on me is merely serious cleavage of the kind that most people are seeking when wearing this sort of garment. Of course, I'm rabid about firm tack of the gore so I don't love that element of the fit, but really, if the gore did tack perfectly, it would undercut the cleavage. Use that info as you will.

It's very open on top and it looks GREAT on breasts with upper cup fullness. I urge you to consider this one carefully if your natural shape is not plump in the upper cup. Sure, the top of the cup is on the demi end of the equation (even as the shape is a true balconette). This can sometimes work on bottom-full breasts if the base of the cup pushes the lower volume up to give the appearance of fullness at the top of the cup. But it's a dicey proposition and I don't think I'd risk it because the wide-ish strap setting is such that you'd potentially get "strap gap" under those circumstances. (BTW, strap gap is where the straps hang away from the top of the breast where they meet the top of the cup because there's not enough volume for the breast to conform against the strap. It's most prevalent in women with large, bottom-dense breasts. It can also occur in those who've breastfed, for example, because nursing can lead to subsequent upper cup volume deflation. Full cup styles with closer set straps tend to mitigate it but it is just a fact for some and this style of bra might not be flattering under those circumstances, IMO.)

On the topic of the bottoms - I got the thong (which I don't regret) but I also want the backless brief. I mean, it's novel - if reasonably impractical. I opted against it this time because I was testing and I figured that, if nothing else, I can always use a black thong. But next order, I'm adding in the brief. On the topic of thong sizing - it's on the true-to-generous size. I hate thongs that dig anywhere so I always size up - sometimes 2 sizes. I got the large (though in sizes that small-size I happily wear an XL and I'm a RTW size 8). The large is perfect - on the loose end by my own standards but I wouldn't size up or down.

And a bit about the sexy-factor:

Friends, it's hot. Wear it with this (NSFW link) and it's super hot. But because it's also entirely wearable (and how much sex underwear can you say that about?) you can maximize it. This is the kind of set you see in sex scenes in Hollywood movies - or French ones - but it's designed specifically for those with actual small back / large boob proportions (which is the look sex lingerie generally seeks to exploit). And really, we're the ones who rock this shit.

I'll be frank: It's easier to have small breasts when it comes to daily life - the clothing options are better, bras take less of a toll on the body, one tends to look thinner, all things being equal, and peeps don't eye one up and down as a matter of course. Needless to say, all the sizes of breasts can be beautiful! But there's no one who looks better in sex lingerie than the confident women with the goods to fill out the "boobs on a plate bra" in a non-bra-matrix size.* Which is why I'm so glad that someone came up with this brand because women who fit this description don't tend to look good in cheap, ill-fitting "one size fits all" erotica. (In truth, no one does, but the small-breasted have more cross-over options.)

So that's my initial take on Scantilly. Have you tried this brand? Do you intend to? Do you find the offerings attractive? Let's talk!

*I realize that this is a personal perspective - and that it may be divisive - but I do think that it's borne out in all sorts of media, modern and ancient. For better or worse, breasts are symbolic inasmuch as they're actual body parts. Furthermore, it's my blog, so I get to tell it how I see it, straight up! (Feel free to disagree though, if you will...)

8 comments:

Gorgeous bra. Thanks for the review. I've been keeping my eye out for a review of this set as it really caught my eye. I really appreciate the thoughts on sizing as that was one of the things I was trying to figure out.

I am tempted by this style. I own many Curvy Kates, & while their shape has become much improved (deeper cups, narrower wires) they still are not really full-on-top friendly; the utter lack of stretch still results in that odd squared-off triangle shape they are infamous for. But. The shape of this Scantilly appears drastically different from the CK balconettes. I do wonder how you find the height of the gore? It seems as it it might approach the near chin heights of say, the Masquerade Rhea - or is this just an optical illusion of the unique keyhole design...?

I should have talked about the gore height! It's almost 4 inches which, I realize, for some is RIDICULOUS. My boobs are very close and centre projected so I'm in the category that tends to hate a high gore. BUT my roots are high-set and, I don't find that height to be particularly problematic. Esp. since the tack is soft, it's not unpleasant in any way. I've never seen a Rhea in real life so it's hard for me to compare it but Bratabase says its gore is the same height.

I'm on the opposite side of the bra-size spectrum from you (32A/small B, shallow and wide-set profile) but I agree with your pros/cons assessment. Boobs-on-a-plate ain't ever happening--good thing my SO is a butt person rather than a boobs person--but I also enjoy a lot of privilege in wearing triangle bikini tops and low-cut V-necks without looking particularly scandalous. And I can find bras that fit perfectly for under $50 on not-infrequent sale at Nordstrom, each of which will last me several years since I need the shaping more than the support.

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